San Benito County’s Grand Jury will consider a formal complaint
asking for the removal of District Attorney John Sarsfield from
office for
”
corrupt misconduct,
”
according to a copy of the document obtained by the Free
Lance.
Hollister – San Benito County’s Grand Jury will consider a formal complaint asking for the removal of District Attorney John Sarsfield from office for “corrupt misconduct,” according to a copy of the document obtained by the Free Lance.
The complaint details 10 allegations of corruption in the district attorney’s office dating back to 2004 including: political retaliation, having an affair with an employee, intimidation of county residents, unauthorized use of county funds, abuse of power, negligent hiring, extortion and plea bargaining violent crimes without justification or notification to the victims. In addition to the charges, the complaint also cites various sections of California legal code for each charge. The Grand Jury will examine the complaint when it convenes on April 11, according to Grand Jury Foreman John Sitton.
Sarsfield declined to respond to any of the allegations.
“I don’t respond to anonymous allegations,” he said.
The complaint is the second request for a Grand Jury investigation into Sarsfield in the last two year. In 2005, the Grand Jury decided against taking any public action the DA. A Grand Jury does have the authority to remove an elected official from office and must at least review every complaint filed against a public official. All complaints sent to the Grand Jury are held in confidence, though actions taken by the jury are made public.
Sarsfield called the complaint “insane” and said he welcomed the investigation because he has done nothing wrong. He believes the complaint is the work of the Los Valientes, the anonymous group he is suing for allegedly violating the civil rights of eight local elected officials and business owners through extortion and by filing false lawsuits.
“This is a classic Los Valientes play, they make anonymous accusations, destroy people’s reputations and hide in the shadows,” he said. “This is one of the reasons I’m going after them. Next week they’ll have me on the grassy knoll.”
San Benito County Supervisors, who decided last week to seek an Attorney General investigation into Sarsfield’s office sometime during the next two weeks, see the complaint as further evidence of the prosecutor’s questionable decisions while in office.
“It’s a sign of widespread discontent,” said Supervisor Reb Monaco. “But I don’t know if this will have any impact on our own request for an investigation into the District Attorney’s office.”
The most serious of allegations listed in the complaint claims that Sarsfield attempted to extort the Board of Supervisors by threatening to sue the county if the board didn’t approve a $350,000 budget augmentation the district attorney requested two weeks ago. The basis for the claim is a letter Sarsfield sent to County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson requesting additional funding, according to the complaint. Sarsfield said he never tried to extort anyone.
“I resent someone claiming that is extortion. It’s not even close,” he said. “I simply sent a letter requesting more money and explaining why I needed it.”
Thompson declined to comment on the letter.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho said he did not feel like Sarsfield was trying to extort him.
“Mr. Sarsfield has a long way to go before he intimidates me,” he said.
The Grand Jury never discloses who filed a complaint. Sarsfield said whoever gave the document to the Free Lance is a “group of sniveling cowards.”
Though the Grand Jury considers every complaint filed, it doesn’t have to take any action, said local defense attorney Harry Damkar, a lecturer with American Grand Jury Foundation. Damkar, who served as San Benito County District Attorney for 19 years, said the process usually starts with the Grand Jury putting the complaint on its agenda. At that point, it could assign a subcommittee to investigate the complaint and submit a written report.
If the allegations are sustained, the Grand Jury could start an “accusation for removal from office.” Damkar said that, to his knowledge, only one such Accusation has been filed by the Grand Jury in the last two decades. If the Grand Jury were to file an accusation for removal, the case would go to a jury trial. It would then be up to a jury to decide whether the allegations were true or not. If true, the jury would have to decide if the misconduct warranted removal from office.
Damkar said it was typically the district attorney’s job to walk the Grand Jury through such process, but if the complaint is against the prosecutor, an outside attorney or the Attorney General could help with the investigation.
Filing an accusation would require affirmative votes from 12 of the 19 Grand Jury members, Damkar said. However, the process might not yield an accusation and could be abandoned at any time. The Grand Jury, which is comprised of San Benito County residents, and the Attorney General are the only two organizations that can remove an elected district attorney from office.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
